


a thief and a liar

by sparrabethington



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, M/M, and instead meets a cute rich dickhead, and technically rafe is only a little younger than sam in this, anyway sam tries to steal from the adler estate, au i guess?? they’re younger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:01:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25667872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparrabethington/pseuds/sparrabethington
Summary: Sometimes sneaking in is the hardest part, sometimes it’s sneaking out. Either way, Samuel Drake usually barely manages to escape with both his life and whatever it is he’s got that he most certainly shouldn’t have.And this time, he’s already cutting it close.
Relationships: Rafe Adler/Samuel Drake
Kudos: 32





	a thief and a liar

**Author's Note:**

> based on a post by verbjectives on tumblr!

Sometimes sneaking in is the hardest part, sometimes it’s sneaking out. Either way, Samuel Drake usually barely manages to escape with both his life and whatever it is he’s got that he most certainly shouldn’t have.

And this time, he’s already cutting it close.

The only reason Sam’s gotten himself into this mess in the first place is because he’s keeping Nathan in mind. Sweet, young, somewhat innocent Nathan who is currently (hopefully) fast asleep in his bed inside the orphanage across town. It had been at least a year since Sam left— though, that’s a story for another time— and now he finds himself working tirelessly every day for anything that might bring in a little extra money to support himself and his baby brother. Mostly he tends to take advantage of the nighttime and pilfers things that catch his eye or look like they’re worth more than a few dollars. Holding down steady employment wasn’t proving to be a strong suit of Sam’s, and so he was forced to find another option for money. If he had to steal and pawn things, that was fine with him.

However, what Sam usually  _ doesn’t  _ do is sneak himself into some fancy rich people party with only the  _ hope _ that he can swipe something of decent value.

His plan is stupid, plain and simple. A lanky, unprofessional-looking teenager has no place amongst a crowd born with a silver spoon in their arrogant mouths. Especially not when he’s dressed in some ripped jeans and a hoodie while everybody else is in something better than their Sunday best. (What else can he do? It’s not like he’s got a pressed suit and a bowtie lying around anywhere.)

Really, if anyone even so much as spots him, the jig is up. He’ll either leave disappointed or in cuffs, and with a record like Sam’s, he’s pretty much used to both by now. The threat of getting caught has never phased him and he supposes it probably never will. Luckily for him, though, he knows what he’s doing. At least he hopes he does.

He’s been crouched behind a table in a very wide, very crowded room for all of about ten minutes now. When it became apparently to Sam that getting himself in through the main entrance would be nothing short of impossible, he decided to exercise some of his problem-solving skills and found a window that’d been foolishly left open. After a bit of climbing and a rather noisy  _ thud _ into an empty hallway, he managed to slink into what seemed to be a ballroom, and took shelter from prying eyes.

Sam sits for a moment and mentally curses himself for not entirely thinking this through. Thinking before leaping is second nature for him, but this stunt could get him into some real hot water. Even if he manages to not get arrested, he probably won’t be able to leave until he’s sure nobody will see him, and God knows how long that could take. He doesn’t exactly want to be on the bad side of or be indebted to the Adler family.

‘Adler’ is a name that opens pretty much any door nowadays. They’re one of the wealthiest families in the area, and  _ plenty _ of other areas too. Bottom line, they have a lot of money. The Adlers are big on business, with Mr. Adler having made himself into a tycoon of sorts in the conglomerate world. Rumors about the family’s only son gearing up to take over have already been circulating for quite some time.

It just so happens that Sam is currently beating himself up behind the punch bowl in the Adler estate, occasionally peaking out to gauge how far he is from the nearest aristocrat. Anybody else might have aimed and shot a little lower before attempting something of this caliber, but unfortunately, not Sam.

A few more moments pass and Sam decides he’s gotta get his head out of his ass and figure out what to do. He can either make a break for it and just hope nobody tackles him down the hall, or he can actually put in the effort to steal something and  _ then _ run for his life. As he’s trying to come to a logical conclusion, he hears a pair of voices above him that belong to a woman and a man.

“...and I hope that this will serve as a proper demonstration of my thanks, Mr. Adler.”

Sam peers his head up from behind the table and instantly matches people to the voices. Right in front of him stands a rather fashionably dressed lady all decked out in feathers and jewelry, and next to her is who he can only assume is Adler. He catches himself staring a little longer than he wants to; Adler is rather handsome, dark hair obviously well groomed and his eyes cold. His features are sharp and he looks every part of the ruthless businessman.

When the two figures move, Sam ducks back behind the table so as not to give away his little hiding place. Mr. Adler says nothing but Sam can hear the sound of something with some weight being placed on the table. When his curiosity gets the better of him and he just has to take a look at what it is, he realizes suddenly that what he came here for is just about a foot away.

_ Adler just put a very expensive-looking watch down within Sam’s reach. _

Without even thinking about what he’s doing, Sam only waits long enough to make sure Adler is adequately distracted before he makes a quick grab for it. It seems that the woman’s ‘demonstration of thanks’ was a gift: a new watch. All it takes is quickly sliding his arm across the table cloth, clutching the cold contraption in his contrastingly warm and sweaty palm, and then pulling it back to his trembling body. Sam doesn’t even take a moment to admire his new catch before he edges his way to the door discreetly and then bolts down the hall.

Luckily for him there’s nobody in this particular corridor. After he makes it to the end and decides the coast is clear, Sam leans up against the wall for a small break to catch his breath. Curiously, he pulls the silver wristwatch from the pocket of his jeans and holds it up to observe it. At the very least, Adler shouldn’t miss it; after all, he’s got an undoubtedly better one now.

“What’ve you got there?”

A smooth voice snaps Sam out of it just as he begins to wonder how much it might be worth. He frantically looks toward the source before he can hide the object, his eyes meeting a pair of hazel-ish ones only a few steps away from his face.

“Um…” Sam starts, not entirely sure how to respond. He registers the person in front of him as a male, probably a little younger than himself but not by very much. He has dark hair that’s been slicked back and he’s dressed in a pristine white suit, one that brings out something dangerous behind his eyes. He wears a smile that feels somewhat patronizing, and tilts his head when Sam doesn’t respond right away. Swallowing hard, Sam frowns and slowly does his best to nonchalantly cram the watch into his back pocket. “It’s nothin’.”

“It looked like a pretty nice watch,” the stranger remarks, extending an open palm. “May I see it?”

Once again, it seems like Sam has two choices. He can either fork over what he just risked his skin to secure and pray to God that this pompous-looking kid gives it back, or make another run for it towards a door that he hopes is an exit and not an entrance to another fancy room. For a brief moment he feels his brain short circuiting. Before he can comprehend what it is he  _ wants _ to do, what he  _ actually _ does is something different. After a bit of hesitation and awkward silence Sam reaches back into his pocket and produces the watch.

The stranger simply looks at it for a moment, and just as Sam looks like he’s going to pass out, he smiles appreciatively and takes it. Another tense wave of silence washes over both of them as the dark haired boy mulls it over in his palm, turning it over a couple times and running his fingers over the band. “Where’d you get this?” He says at last. Sam feels all the color drain from his face.

“It was a gift,” he chokes out, desperately wishing the kid didn’t hear the crack in his voice.

Evidently, he isn’t buying it. “Is that why you came barreling down the hall and then stopped and looked at it like you’d never seen it before?” He still has that same smile on his face, one that says he knows something he isn’t supposed to. That says Sam is far more transparent than he thinks he is. A beat passes, then the stranger looks him in the eye. “This looks just like the one my father wears.”

If looks could kill, Sam predicts that he would be brutally murdered, dismembered, and hidden and his body would never be recovered. He physically cowers a little as his voice catches in his throat. Sam’s first thought is that it must be a coincidence that this random stranger’s father has the same watch he just happened to steal, but all at once it hits him like a truck and he nearly falls to the ground.  _ This is Adler’s son _ .

As if he’s caught on to Sam’s surprise, the boy decides to take the liberty of formally introducing himself. “Rafe Adler,” he states, though not with the amount of pride one would expect. Sam blinks, expecting a handshake or something, but nothing of the sort comes. He feels clumsy although there’s nothing to trip over.

“I, uh… I thought the Adler son’s name was Raphael.” Sam glances to the side, trying to scale his escape options since he’s pretty much backed himself into a corner. He cracks a smile to signify that he was trying to make a lighthearted joke but Rafe isn’t all that pleased.

“It’s  _ Rafe _ .” His tone is suddenly hostile. Something menacing glints in his eyes and Sam begins to feel incredibly uncomfortable. Right as he starts to mentally recite a Hail Mary, Rafe eases up and his patronizing smirk returns to his face. Sam supposes that must be a sensitive topic. “And what’s yours?”

Immediately he knows that giving up his actual name would be dumb as all hell.  _ Come up with a fake one,  _ he tells himself,  _ it isn’t like you’ll ever come back here after this _ . “Sam— uh, Samuel. Morgan.” He clears his throat hard; so much for fake it til you make it.

“Samuel.” Rafe repeats the name with a certain drawl, something heavy yet interested. Sam has to ignore the way he shivers at the way Rafe says his name and instead stares at the floor. He knows for certain he’ll be caught blushing if he dares to look the other boy in the eye. “Who was this a gift from?” The question makes him peer up against his better judgment.

“Huh?”  _ Way to almost catch yourself in a lie, genius.  _ “Oh. Ah, um… my girlfriend.” He  _ wishes _ .

“Girlfriend?” Rafe tilts his head curiously as his gaze flickers between Sam and the watch. “Pity.”

Before Sam can even try to decipher what the hell  _ that _ meant, he feels the metal being pressed back into his palm. After shooting Rafe a puzzled look the shorter teen gives a dry chuckle.

“You’re about as good a liar as you are a thief, Samuel. That is to say… not very.” He leans in closely after checking to see they’re alone in the hallway. “Take it, he doesn’t need it anyways.”

Sam falters. How in God’s name did this kid manage to read him like an open book? He might be impressed if it weren’t for his initial shock. He opens his mouth to say something but the words get caught somewhere in his throat. Instead, Sam furrows his brow and stares Rafe down. “How’d you—“

He’s interrupted by a quiet, genuine laugh. “Just keep the damn watch. Between you and I, I don’t care what you take so long as it isn’t any of my things.”

Sam, who has never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth, shuts his trap right up and quickly slips the watch into the pocket of his jeans. He still can’t quite wrap his head around the fact that the Adler heir just gave him permission to burgle his own father, but he supposes everybody has a motive. Perhaps Rafe is a textbook example of a trust fund brat gone rebellious against his parents. 

He’s doing his best to comprehend how the kid even knew in the first place, until another spell of silence falls between them, and Sam figures it’s probably time he split. He’s had enough excitement for one night.

It’s not until Sam takes a few paces forward towards the door at the end of the hall until he hears Rafe’s voice behind him.

“Samuel.” He turns.

“Next time you break into my house, at least try and dress like you know where you are.”


End file.
